That was my first thought. My baggage will have a lovely view of the ground.

Also, what about the people who now just want to shut their windowshade so they sleep? Or pretend they are not flying and are just in a really fast subway while they slam down tiny bottles of wine so they don't have a panic attack.?

That was my first thought. My baggage will have a lovely view of the ground.

Also, what about the people who now just want to shut their windowshade so they sleep? Or pretend they are not flying and are just in a really fast subway while they slam down tiny bottles of wine so they don't have a panic attack.?

I'd suppose that this will be a boutique option you can decide against, by choosing to buy a cheaper ticket.

In 2050, you'll still be flying in a tapered cylinder with tiny portholes for windows, because that's the design with the least points of failure and the best cattlecar potential. The construction materials may change slightly, expect more composites in major sections of the airframe, but metal won't disappear.The engines will be a little quieter and burn a lot less fuel, which will have become more valuable than virgins' blood. You'll have even less leg-room than today, because fuel will be so expensive, the airlines will feel obligated to cram as much meat into an aircraft is possible (and to compensate, expect weight-savings in everything from the thickness of the toilet seat lid to the amount of coffee in the galley).Holographic entertainment will exist, but only as prototypes at Japanese consumer expos. By the time you're able to afford it, something else will replace it. Instead, the in-flight movie will have disappeared because frankly, you're just going to use your iDevices during the flight anyway, so that stuff gets tossed to free up more weight. But don't expect free wi-fi, airlines gotta make money somehow, and hauling your fat ass around at 400 knots ain't cheap.Homeland Security will force everyone to surrender their clothes and change into identical, pocketless grey spandex bodysuits. This will be more horrifying than it seems, because in 2050, 95% of Americans will be obese. You'll also have to check in 3 days before your flight leaves, just in case anyone had made a hot-headed decision to blow up an airplane (similar to the waiting period after purchasing a firearm).Annoyingly perky flight attendants will have been retired (good), only to be replaced with frustrating robot flight attendants (bad). The good news is, this saves the airlines enough money that they can still serve pretzels in flight (peanuts having been banned for allergy reasons) and still make a tidy profit. The pilot's only job will be to make the insurance company happy, as triple-redundant autopilots will be able to safely land the plane if one of the others fails. He will spend most of his time hitting on the first-class passengers.

Cthulhu_is_my_homeboy:In 2050, you'll still be flying in a tapered cylinder with tiny portholes for windows,

Probably not.

The safer bet is for a blended-wing aircraft with no windows at all, and several very high-def cameras all over the plane feeding the very high-def displays in front of each seat (or worn by the passengers as goggles), probably merged together as a seamless wraparound in every direction.

cirby:Cthulhu_is_my_homeboy:In 2050, you'll still be flying in a tapered cylinder with tiny portholes for windows,

Probably not.

The safer bet is for a blended-wing aircraft with no windows at all, and several very high-def cameras all over the plane feeding the very high-def displays in front of each seat (or worn by the passengers as goggles), probably merged together as a seamless wraparound in every direction.

/windows are a failure mode

No, that's the future we want. The future we get is where nothing interesting happens, and the people at the top find ways to get even richer off it.

"The concept plane, which they hope resembles the real Airbus models of 2050..."

Concepts dreamed up today that are intended for 35 or so years from now have a poor record of actually being built. Dreaming up concepts that do not actually get built are a waste of time. A better idea would be to come up with concepts that have a decent chance of getting built

By the time this plane is in use, the TSA will have banned all baggage. Of course, we'll all be traveling naked too, so perhaps it would be better to just be blind.

I look forward to my next Jaunt

Bravo, nicely done!

I do wonder though... I think windows everywhere like that would make a thunderstorm very exciting.Think of how many people would need a change of underwear after a good sized storm with decent turbulence!

By the time this plane is in use, the TSA will have banned all baggage. Of course, we'll all be traveling naked too, so perhaps it would be better to just be blind.

I look forward to my next Jaunt

Bravo, nicely done!

I do wonder though... I think windows everywhere like that would make a thunderstorm very exciting.Think of how many people would need a change of underwear after a good sized storm with decent turbulence!

Also, what about the people who now just want to shut their windowshade so they sleep?

Fark those people. I'm flying 5 farking miles above the earth, living the dreams of the first humans thatlooked at birds and said "I want to SOAR" - I want to farking see it and I don't care if you can't sleepor you can't see your farking laptop you fat ignorant fark.

/not YOU specifically, of course, but.. people in general.//have a nice day

Spade:Or pretend they are not flying and are just in a really fast subway while they slam down tiny bottles of wine so they don't have a panic attack.?

I think this would be better, since, fear of heights aside, they'd be able to look ahead and see that there wasn't a mountain there. I find the "being in a shaking tube with no ability to view one's surroundings" to be more anxiety producing.

1) How do you suppose you could close the "blinds" if you wanted to get some shut-eye?2) The Sun would be blinding just about everyone once the plane is above the clouds. The whole time.3) Lightening would freak people out

1) How do you suppose you could close the "blinds" if you wanted to get some shut-eye?2) The Sun would be blinding just about everyone once the plane is above the clouds. The whole time.3) Lightening would freak people out

Nobody has mentioned that in every interior shot you can plainly see the floor is not see through? I would fly in that plane just because the views would be cool. not afraid of flying just the Uberfat and sweaty person I would get stuck next to.